Your Father
by DiscoUnicorn
Summary: Roxanne fancies Remus Lupin. This is good for Teddy, right?


**Nothing related to HP is mine. Sadly.**

It wasn't the way his chestnut colored hair curled on the ends or that he had a dimple in his right cheek. No. Theodore Remus Lupin fascinated her because his father fascinated her. Roxanne stumbled across the story of Remus completely by accident when she was nine years old. There were newspaper clippings and pictures buried in a trunk in her Uncle Harry's and Aunt Ginny's attic. She was up there hiding from Freddy and Victoire and trying to not sneeze amongst all the dust. It took them so long to find her that she had gotten to the bottom of the clippings and read all of them and the books filled with things in Uncle Harry's handwriting.

What she had discovered truly fascinated her. Who was this Remus Lupin guy who was a gentle werewolf and friend to people that were even as cool as him? Her fingers were covered in dust as she inspected a photo album filled with pictures of this elusive Remus. He was handsome, with long dark brown hair and brown eyes that sparkled in every picture he was in, even the ones where he wasn't smiling. She clutched the book against her chest and giggled at the idea that she had a secret; she actually had seen a guy she didn't want to kick in the stomach. The book seemed attached to her as she sneaked it out of the attic and up into the room Fred and she shared. Roxanne buried the book underneath her pillows and barely had time to dive under the bed when Victoire walked in.

Teddy appeared in the doorway clutching a bottle of fizzy soda in one hand and a ham sandwich in the other. He was eleven years old and capable of convincing the others of almost anything. Roxanne listened with tight lips as he told Victoire that Fred had just gone to the house across the street with her [Roxanne] hot on his heels. Victoire squealed with delight and ran from the room with her long silvery blonde hair floating out behind her.

The first thing she saw was a pale face surrounded by bright blue hair. He smiled and stuck his hand under the bed as he reached for her. Their fingers linked, and he pulled her from underneath the bed. The first idea to pop into her head was to show Teddy the book of pictures she had found in the attic, but she decided against the idea. What was it that made her think she had some sort of right to have the pictures? Roxanne ended up sneaking the book into her overnight bag and forgetting she had put it there until she got home the following day.

"Dad said he's not buying you all those extra books this year, Rox. All you do is get them and abandon them before you even get a chance to read them. You're going to make the family poor." Fred picked up a quidditch magazine and flipped through it.

She glanced down at the four books, that weren't on her booklist, and wanted to hit her brother on the back with them. Roxanne's arms tightened around those books and protectively moved them closer to her chest. He was her brother! He knew she needed books to survive. Sure, it took her a month or two to eventually get to it, but she did read every book her parents bought for her. She glanced down at the book on top of her stack; it was a book, publicly called fiction, that Aunt Hermione had written about the Marauders. There was no way she was abandoning anything aunt Hermione had written that involved the man she was obsessed with.

Her father was standing near the cashier's desk with a guilty smile on his face. Good. She hopped over to him and hoped her Mom wouldn't appear before she had suckered him into buying her books. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and planted a playful kiss on her head.

"There is my Roxie. Where have you been?" He laughed when she exposed the four books in her arms. "Not again, Roxanne."

"Daddy!" She pouted and rested her head on his shoulder. For a fifteen year old, Roxanne did a great job of acting younger. That is, when she wanted something from her father. "Daddy, these are aunt Hermione's books. I have to have them. Please. I'll work at the joke shop next summer."

"You'll be too busy studying for NEWTS."

"Please, daddy." She smiled and nodded. Her heart leapt when he cleared his throat and tried to look away. "Daddy?"

"Okay, but let's pay for them before your mother returns."

She smiled with delight and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek for being so awesome. He mussed up her hair and said something that made her stop in my tracks. A smile that reached his eyes was directed towards Roxanne as he handed over his money. She shook her head and looked at the ground with cheeks that were probably the color of beets.

"Really? I noticed that you do own a lot of books about them, so which one do you fancy?" Her father whispered the last part.

Taking her books from him, Roxanne tried to run away, but he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her back. He simply stared at her until she exhaled loudly. "Moony."

George burst into laughter and looked as if he was relieved. "Thank God. It would have been confusing if you had said James. Okay. We have to get you out of the house more. You could always go visit your mom's cousin Helena."

Roxanne made a sound in the back of her throat. "She hates me, Dad. Ever since that day I accidentally blew up her couch. She's a bitter non-magic lady."

"She can't help it if she's a squib."

"In a family of full blooded witches." Roxanne shook her head and darted underneath her father's arm. She was headed towards the stairs when she bumped into someone. The smile on her face got bigger. "What are you doing here?"

He looked around as if he had a secret that had been found out. Clearing his throat, he offered her a rational explanation. "I need my books for school."

She nodded and pinched his cheek before laughing and heading up the stairs. Her father's red hair could be seen several feet away from them. She hid up there, reading the first of her four books, until Fred showed up with an annoyed face. Somehow, Mom had gotten into an argument with the witch at the broom shop over what broom would be best for her to purchase. Roxanne laughed as she followed her brother down the stairs. Her father was leaned in pretty close to her mother and obviously whispering to her.

"Hey! He found you." Teddy laughed at the look Roxanne gave him.

"I'm going to go get my books from the witch I left them with in the back. Don't disappear again, Rox." Fred left the two of them standing there.

"Hey, my grams bought me that book too." Teddy smiled and pointed to the book at the top of Roxanne stack. "More books for your shelves?"

"I do read my books, you know."

"I know. I was just joking, which I'm not very good at."

"Roxanne, we're leaving!" Her mother shouted as she ushered Fred out the door with her husband's hand on her back.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at-"

Teddy's sentence was cut short by Roxanne's lips. Their lips had brushed for the briefest of moments and left her friend standing there stunned as she ran from the store. Okay, so he wasn't _exactly_ Remus Lupin, but he was his son, right? Didn't that count for something? Roxanne sighed and ran to catch up with her family, who were headed into one of the robe shops.

Their world fascinated her, and she couldn't quite put her finger on why. Not only was she obsessed with people that were already dead and gone, but Roxanne was starting to think that maybe, if she had been born twenty years ahead of time, she would have had a shot at the kindhearted and intelligent Remus Lupin. She would spend hours lying on the couch staring at the ceiling trying to picture the massive wedding he and she would have and where they would go for their honeymoon. She pictured herself worrying about him on nights when the moon was full and trying to find a way to cure him. Roxanne liked the idea of being with someone that seemed mature enough to handle the fact that she liked to live in pretend worlds.

On the occasions that she rose from her reveries, Roxanne found that her family would simply leave her where she lay. One time, she followed Fred and Teddy outside to watch them play cards, but she ended up with her hands resting behind her head as she daydreamed at the midday sky. What was she thinking about? Remus Lupin saving her from a dragon and planting a well-timed kiss on her lips.

When she rolled over to ask her brother if their Uncle Charlie still had his realistic dragon models, Roxanne found that Fred was gone, and Teddy was just sitting there with his legs folded underneath him staring at her. This seemed to be an amazing feat, considering that Teddy was seventeen and almost incapable of remaining still. Roxanne rested her chin on her palm and looked at him. Other than the fact that his hair had turned an ugly shade of green at that moment, Teddy was a decent looking guy.

She narrowed her eyes at him as she tried to remember what his natural eye and hair color were. He blinked; his short hair turned a soft brown that eerily reminded her of the man she dreamed about. His eyes were brown, too. The similarities between him and his father caused a strange feeling to develop within Roxanne. Surely, she wouldn't fall for her friend on the simple basis that he looked like his father. Rolling back over and resting her head on her hands, Roxanne continued her daydream, but that time it was Teddy who saved her from the dragon and kissed her.

"Well, why were you kissing Victoire?" Roxanne crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the boy before her.

"That was almost two years ago!" Teddy burst into laughter. He straightened when he saw that she had been serious about the question. "She asked me to do it. She said LJ had said that she was a bad kisser."

"And you had to be the one to teach her?" She lifted an eyebrow. Lee, the second, had the idea that it was hilarious to tell girls that. Poor Victoire had been crushed for days after. Obviously, Veelas needed more compliments than normal girls.

"I just wanted to help."

"You always do, Teddy. Am I one of your charity cases right now?" Roxanne picked up her glass of butterbeer and moved towards the crowd of Weasleys, Potters, Schmanders, and Jordans.

There were way too many people in their house than she found appropriate, but they were there to celebrate hers and Lucy's finishing up at Hogwarts. She pretended to be interested in what Molly said so that she could look over her shoulder and make sure that Teddy was following her. When she looked at him, Teddy pretended to be talking to Albus, who looked confused. Roxanne smirked and continued on her way through the large group of people.

She was standing in the backyard with one hand in the pocket of the purple skirt she wore. The drink in her hand was cold as she sipped it. The door behind her closed. Instead of moving to acknowledge him, Roxanne simply moved over a step. Her blue eyes were focused on the night sky and how clearly she could see the constellations looming above. Typically, her mind would wander off and she'd find herself being saved by a man that was a fusion of Remus and Teddy Lupin. Why did Teddy have to ruin her well thought out fantasies? The guy she had created was beginning to look more and more like him with each month.

"What about when you kissed me?" Teddy looked at the ground.

"I saw something in you that reminded me of someone I had a crush on." She took a gulp from her drink to hide a smile. Someone she loved devoutly but was in the processes of coming to term with the fact that he was died and had been with someone before he'd died.

"Oh." He scratched his head, which was covered by hair a brilliant shade of plum. "Congratulations, Roxanne."

She turned to him with a smile and was surprised when he leaned forward and caught her lips with his own. His hand rested on her back as his lips forced hers apart and deepened the kiss. Roxanne's cheeks were pink, and her eyes looked dreamy as she gazed at him. She blinked and shook her head as if she were in a daze. Teddy bit back a smile and lifted his glass in salute to her before she turned and disappeared in the mass of people cluttering the house.

She had collected a relatively insane amount of books about her favorite dead person. The books were stacked neatly on her table and waiting to be packaged in the boxes on her floor. She had sent Uncle Harry back his book of photographs and written him a detailed letter as to how she got it, had some of the photos restored, and kept the book safe. Roxanne sat on her couch and rested her head on the arm. What she needed was sleep. In between researching muggles and standing in for her mother as flying tutor, Roxanne was absolutely beat. Her gaze moved back to the stack of books on her desk. It was time to let go, right? She had been infatuated with Remus Lupin for too long and that had nearly ruined her friendship with Teddy, who was convinced he was in love with her. Roxanne smiled. Probably because she had stolen his first kiss.

Pulling her from her reverie, her doorbell rang. Roxanne groaned and dragged herself across the room. Surprise! Teddy, followed closely by Lucy, strolled inside with a bottle of expensive wine in one hand. He put the wine on the table and explained that Lucy had been at the burrow when he'd gone over there looking for her, so she decided to tag along. Roxanne rested her elbows on the counter and stared pointedly at Lucy, who was undoubtedly attached to the man she had already revealed she would marry.

"Is Lucy staying the night too?" She asked the question to get a reaction from Lucy.

True to her nature, Lucy sat back on the couch and narrowed her eyes while Teddy simply gaped at Roxanne. Lucy tossed her long, silky strawberry blond hair over her shoulder and forced a smile. "Thanks for inviting me."

"I wasn't. This night is special for Teddy and me, so you can leave. Now." Roxanne waved to Lucy as she stood and excused herself.

"That was mean." Teddy stared at her.

"She annoys me. Why did you bring her? You know how she is." Roxanne frowned.

"She's your cousin. I figured maybe she could help you out with something. I don't know."

"With what? Losing my virginity?" Roxanne ran her fingers through her black hair and rested her forehead on the counter. "You are a devil, Lupin."

His hand rested on her hip as he leaned forward and kissed the back of her head. She moved so that she was turned towards him. Their gazes were locked. "Are you sure you want to marry me? I mean, you may want to try a relationship with someone first."

"I tried one and it went great. It lasted well over seven years."

Teddy frowned, distorting the features in his handsome face. "Well, what about when we kissed all those times?"

"I told you. You remind me of someone I had a crush on." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He smelled like trees and spicy cologne. Her fingers moved through his hair as she felt a sense of relief in the fact that she had fallen in love with him. When she was sixteen, Roxanne's father had asked her when the wedding between her and Teddy would take place. She had said never. Her father had laughed then and winked at her, and Roxanne had a feeling that he had known that she had been jealous of the fact that Teddy had kissed Victoire. She rested her head on his shoulder and pressed a soft kiss against his neck. He was hers. She would never meet his father, but she felt she had found something even greater in the son.

"Who was it?" His face revealed nothing, but his eyes showed that he had known.

Roxanne smiled as she looked up and pressed against him. "Your father."


End file.
